Xmas is a special time to spend with loved ones and every one of us want it to end up turning out to be as grand as it is possible to be – a crucial part of the seasonal tradition is displaying a properly decked out dwelling to acknowledge the Xmas season. More often than [...]

As a writer (or any business) in order to generate good financial returns for your efforts you will need to place a great deal of emphasis on product creation and the marketing aspects of your business to turn “what might be” into “what will be” andbecome the success you hopw to be.
Sometimes however, many writers [...]

I’ve always felt ‘rejection’ is a cruel way to describe the return of writing masterpieces. Just how awful I discovered when I looked up the word in my Collins Australian ‘School’ Dictionary.
Rejection (noun): From Latin reicere meaning ‘to throw back.’
Ouch! All that hard work, hours of slaving over a hot keyboard, only to have someone, [...]

It’s one thing to write a book, it’s an entirely different thing to write one that’s a saleable, viable, marketable product. Ensuring the success of a book is something even the biggest publishers have never been able to guarantee. Mitigating circumstances, flash trends, and world events will all affect buyer preferences. That said, there are [...]

“But how can you say, ‘It was only talk, so no harm was done?’ Were this true, then your prayers, and your words of kindness, would be a waste of breath.”
- Nachman of Bratslav
Defamation … slander … libel. It doesn’t take a rabbinic scholar to tell you that words have the power to wound, [...]

What is writer’s block?
Well, I just can’t think of a single darn thing to
say. Oh well, I’m outta here!
Sound familiar? No! Oh, get real! We’ve all
experienced this phenomenon when we absolutely have to
write something, particularly on deadline. I’m talking
about. . . . .uh, I can’t think of what the word is .
. . oh, yes, [...]

My Dad has this old joke that goes, “What’s the most important thing about humor?” After a short pause, he interjects, “TIMING!”
I’ve rolled my eyes many a time over this joke.
But here’s a new version for writers: “What’s the most important thing about writing funny? …… WORDING!”
Whether you’re talking about stand-up comedy or humorous writing, [...]

Writing assignments are often considered the worst possible class or course assignment. There’s nothing worse than sitting down in front of a computer, with a blank screen in front of you. Where do you start? How do you get that first sentence written? Once you start, how do you avoid common mistakes? And when you [...]

FILTERS, WHAT ARE THEY, HOW TO AVOID THEM
By Jennifer Turner
Filters are the extraneous words we use when attributing a thought or action to a character. Here are a list of a few of the most common used:
He/She felt He/She heard He/She saw He/She smelled He/She tasted
and others, like:
He/She thought He/She believed He/She [...]

Copyright © 2004 Steve Shaw
I don’t know about you, but I get dozens of emails daily with completely blank subject lines. The vast majority contain viruses or spam messages, and due to an overloaded inbox and the impracticality of going through each message individually, I tend to delete these suspects automatically en masse, in the [...]